CareTalk: Healthcare. Unfiltered.

Send us Fan Mail Advanced computing and communications technologies offer tremendous promise for patient care, but turning that promise into reality requires high levels of specialized expertise that health systems just don’t have in-house. But some hospitals, like Boston’s Children’s –seem to have figured it out. How do they do it? TOPICS (0:44) Tracing the career of Pixel Health CEO Michael Feld...

Send us Fan Mail Rajesh Subramaniam (MD & CEO, ResultsCX) discusses how advanced analytics and AI can make healthcare more accessible, efficient and effective. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (Preside...

Send us Fan Mail Canada spends half as much on healthcare as the US but outcomes are at least as good and lifespans are longer. Americans –including most recently the state of Florida-- are keen to import cheaper drugs from our northern neighbor. Should we import any of their other healthcare ideas while we’re at it? O Canada, what can we learn from thee? TOPICS (01:36) The Canadian healthcare sys...

Send us Fan Mail HealthBiz Brief host, David Williams, forecasts 2024 healthcare business trends. Listen to our 2024 healthcare predictions episode here. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (President, Health...

Send us Fan Mail The rain was falling in San Francisco last week. But somehow inside the JPM Morgan Healthcare conference, it was sunny, or at least a lot sunnier than the gloom and doom of 2023 when biotech was in a freefall. So is the industry in for a rosy 2024 or will it be back to negativity again soon? TOPICS (01:35) Optimistic views on the Healthcare industry (02:04) Discussion on the pros...

Send us Fan Mail Tom Cotter (President & Executive Director, Healthcare Ready) discusses how to avoid patient disruptions amid crisis by forging partnerships between the healthcare supply chain and government. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Wal...

Send us Fan Mail It’s mid-January, so it must be time for the JP Morgan Healthcare conference, where tens of thousands of biotech and healthcare companies and investors come together in San Francisco to network and make plans for the year ahead. But with the pandemic, rival conferences, and bad press about San Francisco, is the JPM conference still relevant in 2024? 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is...

Send us Fan Mail RXLightning's CEO and Founder, Julia Regan joins David Williams to discuss how her company is transforming the specialty prescription onboarding process. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Willi...

Send us Fan Mail 2024 has arrived, and with it a slew of new state laws and federal regulations that will affect health care in ways large and small. From restrictions on gender-affirming care in West Virginia to a reduction of prior auth requirements in Medicare Advantage, we’ll let you know what’s in store. So, will this year be a healthy, happy, and prosperous one for the health care system? Le...

Send us Fan Mail Amenities Health's CEO, Dr. Aasim Saeed joins David Williams to discuss the challenges of differentiation in healthcare and technology. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (President, He...

Send us Fan Mail Thanks to all our listeners for making 2023 CareTalk’s best year yet. With 650,000 streams across 55 new episodes, it’s been a year to remember. We really appreciate your support! Some of the year’s big stories were AI in healthcare, abortion restrictions following the Dobbs decision, and approval of the world’s first CRISPR gene editing therapy. John and I have polished off our c...

Send us Fan Mail Clincierge’s CEO, Scott Gray joins David Williams to discuss the challenges of clinical trial retention and Clincierge's innovative approach to addressing them.  🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and Dav...

Send us Fan Mail President Biden recently invoked the Defense Production Act to support investment in domestic drug manufacturing. It’s part of Bidenomics and is designed to bolster supply chains and increase spending at home. What’s the strategy here? And will it work? TOPICS (01:08) Defense Production Act (02:04) Using DPA in healthcare (03:20) Criticism of DPA (05:14) US drug costs (07:30) Drug...

Send us Fan Mail CBD-based products are everywhere, and many customers swear by them. But the market is largely unregulated, leaving consumers in the dark about product purity, safety, and effectiveness. Congress recently took a first step, authorizing a regulatory framework to address public health while maintaining access. What should the federal role be? When should states get involved? And wha...

Send us Fan Mail Sworkit Health's CEO, Ryan Hanna joins David Williams to discuss his company's transition from DTC to B2B. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (President, Health Business Group) as...

Send us Fan Mail Nursing home stays can easily run over $100,000 per year. That cost is a big source of fear for older Americans, 70% of whom will need some form of long-term care.  Long-term care insurance seems like a great answer. So why do only 3-4% of people have coverage? TOPICS (01:18) What is long-term care insurance? (04:07) Difference between healthcare and long-term care (06:56) Is the...

Send us Fan Mail Choosing between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage is hard, but the stakes are even higher for cancer patients. Does the flexibility to choose any hospital or doctor under traditional Medicare outweigh Medicare Advantage’s enhanced benefits like dental, vision and OTC drugs? In this episode of CareTalk, John and David weigh the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage for can...

Send us Fan Mail Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s an absolutely wonderful holiday –unless you’re a turkey. It can be a busy day in the ER, too with Thanksgiving-themed ailments like food poisoning and burns. But the big takeaway is that showing gratitude is good for your mental and physical health. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healt...

Send us Fan Mail The Biden Administration is working to drop medical debt from credit reports. Doctors and hospitals will still be able to sue you, but might not be able to hurt your credit. Want to dive deeper into the US medical debt problem? Listen to our primer episode " What To Do About Medical Debt " Read our report " America's Medical Debt Problem "   🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARE...

Send us Fan Mail Obamacare has been remarkably durable. Despite the old “repeal and replace “ rhetoric, it turns out Americans like having affordable health insurance. Around 18 million people have individual plans, and 80 percent of them receive Obamacare subsidies. Open enrollment is here, and this season is going to be a busy one. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Megan Ranney joins CareTalk to discuss innovative public health approaches to prevent violence and related behavioral health problems. 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (President, Heal...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. David Shulkin was appointed by President Obama, then promoted to the Cabinet to head the Department of Veterans Affairs and eventually fired by President Trump. Now in the private sector he’s a dogged advocate for veterans and involved in everything from drug pricing to living to 100. In this episode, Dr. Shulkin joins CareTalk to discuss everything from rural health to improv...

Send us Fan Mail More than one in five adults have a diagnosed behavioral health condition. Yet only about half are in active treatment --and it takes an average of 11 years from the onset of symptoms before a patient seeks care.  Our guests,  Brightside Health CEO Brad Kittredge and Evernorth Chief Medical Officer for Behavioral Health Dr. Doug Nemecek, are opening multiple front doors to let pat...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. David Feinberg was CEO of Geisinger and UCLA Health, then led Google Health before becoming CEO of Cerner. For the past year he’s been Chairman of Oracle Health. So, it's safe to say he knows a thing or two about healthcare IT! Dr. Feinberg joins  the show to discuss interoperability, AI, health equity, and much more! 🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK CareTalk is a weekly podcast that p...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Buettner has unlocked profound secrets of longevity and happiness. He journeyed to the unique places around the world, dubbed the Blue Zones, where people regularly live into healthy old age. Dan discovered what they have in common and is now applying Blue Zones insights to create healthy communities around the United States. Can Blue Zones slow or reverse the recent slide in...